Surgical patties are thin absorbent strips of material which are used to absorb body fluids during surgical procedures and/or to protect delicate tissue from damage during surgery. Surgical patties come in a variety of sizes and shapes. A locating string is usually attached to these patties to serve as a means for locating the pattie in the surgical site. The locating string is usually several inches long and can be traced back to the pattie so that a pattie will not be inadvertently left within the surgical site after the operation has been completed.
As pointed out in a variety of patents, for example U.S. Pat. No. 3,481,462 entitled Disposable Surgical Holder and Counter, it is necessary that all surgical patties used in the operating room be counted before they are used and after they are retrieved from the surgical site. A variety of packages have been provided to facilitate this counting procedure so that surgical patties are not left in the surgical site.
It is sometimes necessary to soak these surgical patties in sterile water or in saline solution or some other liquid. This soaking procedure requires the patties to be removed from their counter package and saturated in fluid just before they are inserted within the surgical site. It would be desirable to have a container for surgical patties which would provide a ready accounting for the patties both before they were introduced to and after they were removed from the surgical site. It would also be desirable to have a container which could also function as a tray in which patties could be soaked prior to insertion in the surgical site.